welcome

My friend Christine is coming to visit today!

K and I became friends with Christine when we were all living in Japan. We visited her in Minneapolis last year, so this year it's her turn to come see us.

She keeps telling me how excited she is for her first trip to the South. She grew up in Minnesota, so she has always considered Kentucky a southern state. I, on the other hand, have grown up in Louisville and traveled farther south through Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia, and Alabama. And I have to say, Louisville isn't really the South. It feels very mid-western to me. We'll see what Christine, a true mid-westerner, has to say.

To welcome Christine, I put together a nook vignette in her favorite color--purple. I think I used every purple item that I have, and it still looks a little sparse. I also made her a sandwich bag for when we pack picnics this week. I didn't have any purple fabric, but I did find some with purple flowers. I embroidered a few of the flowers to make the purple stand out more.

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No menu or CSA post this week. Our vegetable share was pretty small this week due to bad weather in the region last week. We had flooding and four tornadoes touch down in the city. Amazingly, there were no serious injuries. The small vegetable share this week is actually fine for us because we plan to take Christine to all of our favorite restaurants.

*good day*

celebratory malt

Two good things to tell you.

1. Today I picked up my diploma. It was in the Registrar's office in the basement. "Pomp and Circumstance" played just for me (really) as other students picked up their transcripts and employees typed away at their desks. Such a surreal moment. All said, I'm glad to have it in my hands.

2. I got a job!!! I feel very relieved and excited. The exclamation points could go on for pages. I start next week as a publishing assistant with a small-but-growing company. Thanks for all of your encouragement here. I thought of your kind words before each interview. It made things easier knowing that you all believed in me. (Cheesy, but true.) Thank you, thank you.

loving lately

Kate's caravan bedding makes my heart beat fast. So much vintage sheet goodness!

Francesca's nightgown has me thinking that my t-shirt and shorts as sleepwear don't cut it anymore. She also recently shared the most beautiful day at the beach.

Liesl's wallet has lots of pockets for organizing and a mini-doily that I made!

Kristen's nook takes its inspiration from her garden. She just started her blog recently, and it's already bursting with good things.

Cirilia Rose's sequined cardigan looks like something out of a fairy tale.

Esme is lovely in yellow and polka dots. I like her bike, too.

The perfect pillowcase for my bed is made right here in Louisville. (via Design*Sponge)

I'd like to take a drive through horse country and then spend the day weaving baskets at The Homestead.

My favorite Missed Connection has books and polka dots.

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What are you loving lately?

yarn along: little lace and big lace

yarn along today

I am still going strong on my Audrey cardigan. The Shetland lace turned out to be simple (and fun) to make. I knitted the lace section while K and I watched The Wire (season 3), and I didn't get nearly as much knitting done because I couldn't stop watching the show. Now I'm working on the back and wondering just how long sleeves are going to take me. I'm guessing longer than I'd like. 

I just started reading Lee Smith's latest collection of short stories Mrs. Darcy and the Blue-eyed Stranger. Smith's stories of people in the South make me appreciate the daily-ness of life and the incredible characters who live here. I read her writing when I lived abroad to feel closer to home (Wendell Berry, Bobbie Ann Mason, and Barbara Kingsolver were also on my abroad reading list). 

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rope doily rug preview

Yesterday I stopped in at the hardware store and asked where the rope section was. "What do you need rope for?" the man behind the counter asked. "Oh, I'm just making a rug," I said. Hardware stores make me nervous because I never feel handy enough to be in them. The man showed me the rope section and pointed out cotton and sisal ones that might be good for rug-making. Maybe I'm not the first to come in about a rug. I didn't mention I was crocheting a doily rug, though. I ended up buying fifty feet of cotton clothesline, which you can see didn't get me very far. I'll get more today so that I can finish this rope doily rug. It's going to be my bathmat. I plan on making a tutorial for this when I'm through. 

csa day: first day of summer

Summer is here! I'm anxiously awaiting some juicy tomatoes, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy the cooler weather crops. 

This week we got kale, cabbage, mixed salad greens, radishes, onions, and potatoes.

Menu

Tuesday/Wednesday: Black bean, kale, and onion tacos

Thursday/Friday: Pitas stuffed with hummus, salad greens, radishes, and carrots. Topped with feta dip from Sweet Paul magazine. This meal was slated for last week, but we didn't get around to it.

Saturday/Sunday: Toasted kale with eggs and marinara sauce

Monday: Okonomiyaki

Snack: Kale chips

We've got a lot of kale. So far we've eaten it in soup and pie, toasted it, sauteed it, and baked it. We even put it on our tacos tonight. I know. I was desperate because we suddenly had two giant bunches in the fridge. We did find a new favorite kale dish last week when we made kale and feta pizza. I'd recommend that one. The tacos are only for the really adventurous. If you've got other ideas, let me know. We'd like to try them all while we've got so much kale on hand. Actually, I just want new recipes so that I can trick myself into thinking I'm eating something different instead of kale again. Please send ideas. 

positive outlook

This weekend I rescued a project that has been languishing in my to-do pile since February. It's a cross pillow stuffed with buckwheat hulls and lavender. I have wanted one ever since I came across Liane's shop. K bought me buckwheat hulls and wool felt for my birthday so that I could make my own. I made the pillow out of muslin soon after, but didn't get around to sewing the cover for it. Months passed without progress on the pillow; school and knitting hogged all of my time. But then I came across this sweet bedroom (via emma lamb), and I remembered how much I wanted a cross pillow. I dug out a piece of thrifted canvas, my mom's embroidery thread, and red wool felt and got to work. 

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After a few hours of cutting and stitching, I've got a pillow that smells wonderfully of lavender. The buckwheat hulls offer great support for my tired neck. So far I've used it for reading and yoga, but I'm looking forward to taking some summer afternoon naps with it. I hope all of that lavender will make for sweet dreams.

* * * 

Finishing this project felt very satisfying. I'm going through other unfinished things to see what I can finish next. I've got a crocheted lap blanket that just needs ends woven in and a bookmark that I promised K years ago. Maybe posting about these perpetual works in progress will motivate me to complete them. 

Do you have any projects languishing that you'd like to finish? 

Red Sweater Day

I'm so excited to show you my second knitted sweater. Strawberry red and mostly cotton, it's perfect for summer cookouts and picnics in the park. It's comfortable with a t-shirt and jeans, and I think it is going to look very cute over a jersey dress. What I love most is that I can wear it right now without having to take a trip to the Southern hemisphere (or Maine). 

The sweater and I had our first evening out together last night. We rented movies and went to the post office. Since K was with us (way to be a third wheel, Honey), I had him get a few photos. The sweater and I are pretty smitten with each other. I think every day should be a red sweater day!

The knitting was great--fast and fun. I left the sweater at home when we went on vacation because it was too big to haul around by that point and found myself missing my knitting time with it. While I do like knitting with wool better, this cotton/wool blend yarn is wonderful to work with on sweaty summer days.  

For more details, check out my Ravelry page.